“The path leading to cognition of the supersensible worlds is one which all men [and women] may travel, whatever their position under the present conditions of life may be. And in speaking of such a path it must be borne in mind that, while the goal of cognition and truth is the same at all times of the earth’s development, yet the starting point for Man has varied considerably at different periods. For instance, the man of the present day who wishes to find the way into supersensible worlds, cannot start from the same point as the Eqyptian candidate for initiation of old. This is why it is impossible for modern humanity to apply, without modification, the exercises given to the candidate for initiation in Ancient Egypt. … The capacities and qualities of souls change. Those who have studied human history only superficially can note that since the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, all life conditions have changed and that opinions, feelings, and even human capacities have become different from what they were before that time. The path for the acquirement of higher knowledge must be one which is suitable for souls in the present.

“From epoch to epoch, progressive evolution leads humanity, in respect to the path of higher cognition, to ever-changing modes , just as outer life likewise changes its form. For at all times, it is necessary that perfect harmony should reign between external life and initiation.”

–Rudolf Steiner

Supersensible Worlds

What Mr. Steiner calls “Supersensible Worlds” are today known as spiritual worlds or spiritual dimensions. What name we use isn’t important, but Steiner’s term tells us something about what these worlds are. As Supersensible worlds, they are above the sensible, or material world, in terms of frequency, level of consciousness, and evolution.

Present Conditions

The present conditions of life are indeed different than what they were in Ancient Egypt during its spiritual golden age and even different from what it was during the Greek golden age of spiritual development. In one sense, things have gotten worse because people today are much more materialistic than in those ancient periods. On the other hand, we now have the Sun of Righteousness shining down on us, and that makes spiritual development easier. In any case, many things have changed and that is why the methods of spiritual development must change with the times. While they may remain the same in a general sense, the details change. Today, the idea of having to live in a monastic community to engage in spiritual development appeals to few people, so that has changed. You can now be part of a spiritual community and still have a normal life with a home, a job, a spouse, etc.

Progressive Evolution

While Steiner may be correct in a physical sense, man has actually not been evolving spiritually, but devolving over the centuries. Fortunately, that is finally changing due to the arrival of the Sun of Righteousness in the End Times of the present age, which marks the beginning of a new age of spiritual growth. We don’t know how long it will take, but man will evolve into a pure spiritual being, and death, disease, and other problems of having a physical body will be over. We will no longer have to kill and eat other physical beings to survive but will need only God’s Light to nourish and sustain us.

“Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches…

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

“The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation: So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ”

“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

“I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into you and eat with you, and you with me

“To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

“See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them;

they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

“Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty, I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

“Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels… on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates

“ And the city was a perfect cube, and it length is as large as its breadth: the length and the breadth and the height of it are all equal.

“The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles;,its length and width and height are equal.

“The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.

“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

– Revelation

The Book Of Revelation

Most of the Bible, like much scripture of other faiths, is written in allegorical language. The Book of Revelation probably more so than any other book of the Bible. In a way, John explains some of the symbology in the sections quoted above, but not entirely. He starts by saying that the seven stars and seven lamps represent the seven churches, but he doesn’t say what seven churches. Many assume it means the early Christian churches, but I think John was speaking in a more universal sense, and the seven churches are the seven major religions of the world.

Because You are Lukewarm

The allegory used here is fairly obvious. John is criticizing the church of Laodicea for not being devoted enough in their worship of God. They are like so many Christians today who call themselves Christians, yet rarely do what Jesus taught the apostles to do. They either don’t go to church as often as they should, or they go more as a social event rather than a spiritual one. Of course, real spiritual development requires more than going to church or reading scripture, and he is talking about that also.

Rich, But Poor and Naked

This is even more true today. People think they are successful because they have a lot of money, land, or other forms of material wealth. John is saying these people are really poor and naked because they have accomplished nothing on a spiritual level. Money, land, and fine clothes won’t get you into Heaven. You need to be “clothed” in God’s Light that comes only to those who practice spiritual development techniques, and do it with the proper attitude of love and humility.

God Will Be With Us

In a sense, God is with all of us now as his presence is in the Sun of Righteousness that now shines down on us, but the Light from that sun has little effect on the average person. We have to practice spiritual development techniques to absorb a significant amount of that Light and become one with God.

City with Twelve Gates

This city represents the entryway into Heaven. It is described as being of pure gold, but clear like glass. To me, that is a good description of the Spiritual Sun. Gold is often associated with the sun, and clear like glass can only mean that it is not visible but is there anyway. That only applies to the Spiritual Sun. And what about those twelve gates? Look at our Cosolargy Cross. It has twelve suns on the outer sections in four groups of three. While the version we use in Cosolargy was specifically designed for our community using the knowledge of modern math, harmony, and proportion, versions of this cross have been around for thousands of years!

Summary

We can’t go through all the allegory in one post, so suffice it to say that it should now be apparent that Revelation is about Spiritual Awakening and Spiritual Development.